Batwoman #26 will be the last issue creative team J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman will work on: the writer-artist duo revealed they quit the book because DC Comics nixed long-standing plans to have the caped crusader marry her girlfriend, police detective Maggie Sawyer. The December 2013 issue will be their swan song, because of “editorial decisions [that] came at the last minute” after more than a year of planning. “We’ve always understood that, as much as we love the character, Batwoman ultimately belongs to DC,” the pair wrote. “However, the eleventh-hour nature of these changes left us frustrated and angry — because they prevent us from telling the best stories we can. So, after a lot of soul-searching, we’ve decided to leave the book after Issue 26.”

Williams clarifies that it wasn’t homophobia that prompted DC to cancel wedding plans, but rather a reticence to see lead characters weighed down with spouses: “Not wanting to be inflammatory, only factual- We fought to get them engaged, but were told emphatically no marriage can result. But must clarify- was never put to us as being anti-gay marriage.” In recent revamps, DC has also done away with Superman’s heterosexual marriage to Lois Lane and the Flash’s marriage to Iris Allen.

Sir Ian McKellen will star as Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon’s adaptation of Mitch Cullin’s novel A Slight Trick of the Mind. Unlike Robert Downey Jr’s swashbuckling detective, McKellen will play Holmes as an aging and “retired” detective in 1940s England who goes back to solve one last case. “With his legendary mental powers on the wane, and without his old sidekick Watson, Holmes is faced with the toughest case of his life—a case that might finally reveal to him the mysteries of the human heart,” claims the press release. Condon and McKellen previously made movie magic in the amazing Gods and Monsters.

Government administrators in Louisiana have announced they’ll be joining Texas and Mississippi in refusing to follow the Justice Department’s orders granting benefits to the spouses of gay veterans. “The state of Louisiana does not recognize same-sex marriage, nor does it allow a state officials to take part in an act that recognizes same-sex marriage. We would refer those individuals interested in applying for such benefits to seek guidance at a federal military installation,” said Lt. Col. Michael Kazmierzak of the Louisiana National Guard.

Several other states will follow Attorney General Eric Holder’s directive even though they have marriage-equality bans, including Alabama.

The nation’s oldest existing gay bookstore, Giovanni’s Room, is up for sale. It’s not clear yet whether the store will shutter or keep going with new owners: “I know it’s possible for independent bookstores to thrive in the current environment,” current owner Ed Hermance told Philadelphia Gay News. “I don’t know if someone has the resources and the passion to continue the store.”